OCR
Oe2- for December 1952 REPORT FROM YUGOSLAVIA "he most important thing which has been reported to us ‘ during the last weeks is one of a number of top ranking discussions * within the Yugoslav government end more especially within the Belgrade foreign office. “uite obviously Yugoslavia has reached again a point of major deGisions. $he reason for this turning point is obvious. After br aking with the Soviets and after being driven increasingly into the Western camps, the Yugoslav regime had gradualiy built up a wide series of contacts with the more extreme leftewingers in the Western camp. Their sympathy lay with the radicals in every Socialist Party, with the Bevanites of the Weste This was a possible policy for as long as the Soviet Union was continuing an openly aggressive poliéy. Nevertheless, with the Stalin article, this situation changed. It has become obvious to Belgrade that the extreme left-wing socialists and neutralists are ready to accept Stalin's peace proposals at face value. Belgrade realizes that, if the neutralists should revail, Yugoslavia would be the first victim a @ppeasement. It is also obvious to the leaders in Belgrade that, while Leftist socialists would be received with open arms by Msscow, the same would not be true for theme Under these conditions, fito's regime, though reluctantly, is at present Studying a re-alignment of its alliances. Faced with the wnreliabilit of leftist socialists, the Yugoslav leaders now begin to feel that ; in the face of Soviet policies, conservative forces in “urope might be a more reliable friend to Yugohlavia, than would be the West's Socialists. This idea strange as it may seem, is Marshal Tito's owne the opposition comes more from the old idgological groups, such as Pijade. “hile it would be still too early at this writing to speak of a complete change of Yugoslav policies, it is nevertheless increasingly becoming a definite possibility, one which is under active discussion in Belgrade at this hour. One can easily under= Stand the tremendous impact of this move, which is obviously encouraged by the results of the Amerdéan elections. It is a fact that on several points in the West during the last three weeks, Yugoslav agents and displomats have already laid the groundwork ofx fer contacts with conservative forces. This is especially true of Germany, France and Austria. If continued, it might even lead to a change in Yugohlav domestic policies. “his nervousness of the Yugoslavs over the Kremlin plans is also strengthened by the fact that while the peace offensive of Russia is carried out towards all capitalist countries, the hostility to Yugoslavia is still very evident. The influx of sp&és and saboteurs has greatly increased. While scores of them have been arrested in the past few weeks, hundreds are still at largee And they are the more ddngerous, dince the regime well knows that they have still most powerful contacts in every branch of the Yugoslav administration. Scarcely a month goes by, without the discovery of —